Reform's a Bitch
by Kiha717
Summary: Travis Locke is a Rocket Grunt with a checkered past who was perfectly fine stealing for a living. But when he is forced to join two new trainers to get out of going to jail, he finds himself beginning to change in all ways. Can he truly fight against what he once knew when it refuses to leave him alone? Can somebody truly break away from everything that you've ever known?
1. The Day My Life Changed

_Hey guys,_

_This is Kiha717 and this is something I wanted to work on for a long time. This is based on a very very special RP to me and me and my partner just haven't touched ti before because we both feared messing up each others characters in doing so and this is me caving in with his permission. Of course this might be important to not that this is from the pov of a character who wasn't mine, which makes this even more out of the box for me._

_But I'm super excited to try this and I hope it takes off! Feel free to review saying anything you want and I hope you enjoy it! If this does well enough, I'd lvoe to keep it going as a series! Enjoy!_

_xKiha_

* * *

><p>"You give that Pokemon back right now!"<p>

_It was supposed to be a routine robbery…but it didn't turn out that way._

_Just my luck._

I'm Travis Locke, sixteen years of age and a criminal. If Team Rocket has fucked you up, I doubt you're going to like this kind of a story much because it's possible I was the guy who did that. I've been in this kind of business since I was a little kid, practically bred for it with three older brothers who engineered me to be this kind of a guy.

And right now I was fleeing a home with a woman screaming at me to return her stuff.

Probably not the best place to begin a story, but this is where mine begins. I just finished robbing a house in Cerulean City and was in the process of my escape. I hadn't really stolen much, just a Pokeball with some kind of 'mon in it, a few TMs to pawn off and something for lunch. But I had managed to get away with it which was always the goal when you're working like this.

I eventually reached a clearing, panting for a moment before removing the Pokeball from my bag. _Dear Arceus, I don't ask for much in this world but please let this be something kickass._ I'd kill for something like a Nidoking or Gyrados and if you think the word kill is a joke, you'd be mistaken.

I tossed the ball into the air, releasing the monster that was inside with my heart slightly pounding with excitement. If this was badass enough I wouldn't have to use that fucking Drowzee Joey leant me anymore, something I'd look forward to.

"Shrew?"

_Arceus damn it._

I found myself staring into the giant eyes of a Sandshrew that seemed absolutely terrified of me, which was an indicator of an untrained house pet instead of something meant to battle. Ugh, I should have known better when I robbed the house of the only woman who was most obviously single and lonely.

I ran a hand through my messy black hair with an aggravated grunt before tapping the ground type with my shoe. "So, the hell can you do?" The creature flinching with fear when I touched it, which made me want to actually kick it just to get an idea of what I could really do if it didn't start doing as I said really quick. If I ever looted a house with a Pokedex, life could just become so much easier in a heartbeat.

"Hey you!"

I was taken from my thoughts by the sound of a female voice getting closer. I immediately jerked, turning to see the police that had surely come after me. I couldn't go to jail, I wasn't ready to end up as some prison bitch.

But what was running towards me was…two teenage trainers maybe younger than me. One boy and one girl.

The boy seemed a bit nervous about rushing towards a Rocket member like me, his green eyes holding a lot of uncertainty. He had short and scruffy brown hair and wearing a pretty dorky outfit of a blue shirt and black vest with brown pants and black sneakers. Obviously this wasn't something he did for shits and giggles.

The girl however seemed a little more serious about this, blue eyes narrowed with both nervousness and determination. She had long blond hair in pigtails with a pink bandanna on her head that matched her pink tank top along with a white skirt and white flip flops. In her arms she seemed to be cradling an Eevee, a tiny one but an Eevee all the less.

"Fuck off!" I shouted as I released that Drowzee. It glared tiredly at me as if to remind me for the umpteenth time that I wasn't its true Master but to be honest, I had no time to deal with its refusal to accept me. "Use Confusion!"

A psychic attack was sent at the teenagers trying to be heroes, but the girl didn't seem fazed as she released a Butterfree. "Liberty, Silver Wind!"

I growled with annoyance when the little bug managed not only to take the Confusion head on but destroy my pathetic defense with a single move. I returned the Drowzee and grabbed the Sandshrew before beginning to run for my life.

"You give that Pokemon back right now!" The girl shouted, obviously not being able to give up. Seriously, the hell was her problem when this Sandshrew clearly didn't belong to her either.

"Liberty! Use String Shot!"

Oh no, oh no!

I was bolting for it, but obviously the small little bug with wings was much faster than I as it had no problem catching up to me. I tried to make a break into the trees or really anywhere but before I could, I found myself being bound by thousands of little webs, the Sandshrew wriggling out of my arms before I was completely restricted and falling to the ground.

"That's what y-you get." The girl panted as she got closer to me, looking to the shaking Sandshrew that sat before me and smiling gently. "Here, come with us, we'll take you home."

The little rat seemed pretty fucking happy with this plan as it practically clung to her leg, the girl giving an almost cute smile as she patted its head gently. "Don't worry, you're safe now. The big bad Rocket can't hurt you anymore."

She looked to the boy panting next to her, smiling gently. "Alright, ready to bring him back?" The boy breathlessly nodding to her as she giggled. "Then let's hurry."

Were they going to abandon me in the middle of the road!? "H-Hey!" I shouted, struggling in my binds with aggravation. "What about me!?"

The girl turned to look at me with a look of what I figured was pity. "You? Well, you're going to wait until an Officer Jenny comes by to take you to the prison."

I just couldn't believe this, struggling in the binds with aggravation. It was humiliating enough to have been tied up by a fucking Butterfree, but now they were just going to abandon me in the middle of the fucking road to be discovered by Arceus knows who and have them do Arceus knows what to me!? "You're kidding right!? You can't just leave me!"

The boy shook his head. "You shouldn't have been stealing Pokemon from others."

I just couldn't believe this. "Come on dude! It's my job and I was just doing it!" I looked to the girl once again, eyeing the Eevee in her arms for a moment. "Come on, you know you can't just leave me here for anybody to discover."

She rolled her eyes, refusing to have her dark blue eyes look into mine. "Give me one reason why I should help you."

I wasn't sure if she and the boy were a couple or not, but she was kind of cute and if I played this right, I might get myself out of here. "Because, I know you dig bad boys." I smirked.

She actually seemed to blush a bit, looking away. "I also have a thing for guys with light blue eyes and blond hair, but that doesn't mean I go out and try to get with every guy who happens to have those features."

I smirked, knowing I had chipped away at her and if I could keep it up, I'd be out of here. "Well, if I died my hair blond, would you let me go?" I was sure to blink my blue eyes innocently.

Her Eevee whimpered as she blushed a little harder, unable to look at me anymore. "You were stealing…you're a Rocket…how could I ever trust you?" She seemed to be debating my freedom with herself quite a bit.

"Because~" I gave her the most innocent smile I could possibly fake. "I pinkie promise?"

She didn't buy that, the boy she was with in shock that I pulled this card only for the girl to whisper something to the normal type she was cuddling with. She then smiled to me as she slowly crept closer and bent down so we could look at each other face to face.

"Alright~" She purred. "If I let you go you are going to do three things for me. One, I am going to ask to have your full name and all of your information. Two, you are going to travel with Jan and I so we can keep an eye on you. And number three, you will dye your hair blond."

You have got to be kidding me!

"W-Wait, what!?" I was in shock, squirming for a moment only to see her move to get up. No, I couldn't be left behind for whatever happened to come along next. "Ugh…fine. And what was that about dying my hair!? You can't be serious!"

"But, I was." She smirked, pursing her lips playfully. "Because if you did that, you'd be cute in my books!"

I growled, wanting to just scream or punch something or maybe somebody. "Yeah, whatever. I agree to your terms and conditions, just untie me!"

"Arceus, somebody is impatient." She teased which only made me want to punch her as she motioned to her Butterfree. "Alright, Liberty, use Silver Wind to unbind him."

The bug was cautious enough, slicing through the ropes with a few powerful gusts from her wings as I impatiently stood up, dusting myself off. "Thanks." I ungratefully muttered.

The girl returned her Butterfree, smiling gently. "So, Mister, what's your name?"

"Travis. Travis Locke"

"And that Drowzee of yours, was that stolen too?" She asked.

I smugly nodded. "Not directly by me, but it was stolen." I removed it from my belt and handed it over to her, not all too upset to be getting rid of the damn thing. "Feel free to own it."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Do you even have any Pokemon?"

"No…"

The girl smiled brightly to me. "We could help you get one!"

The both of us turned to see the blond who continued to smile brightly, her Eevee purring quietly in her arms as I smirked. "Seriously!"

Her friend nervously smiled, not liking this idea or my presence. "Seriously, Nia?"

"Yeah…why not?" She smiled, a bit more nervously now. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder if she was some form of the dumb blond. If so, getting my way and out of this wouldn't be too hard. "He'll need at least one Pokemon to defend himself."

"Sweet." I smirked. "So, when do we start journeying and where are we going?"

"Sorry, Travis," The girl smiled playfully. "But the first thing we're doing is apologizing to the woman you robbed and returning what you stole."

I was in shock. Did they really expect me to turn face just like this? I was a fucking Rocket member, not some kind of do gooder hiding behind a shell. I groaned as she started walking forward with the Sandshrew still clinging to one of the skinny legs of hers.

"And that reminds me." She turned around to give me a gentle smile. "I'm Nia Evans and my friend is Jan Cazzola. Welcome to the group."

I bit my lip, unable to even fake an ounce of enthusiasm. "Yeah yeah, I can't wait."

And this was how my new life began.


	2. The Beginning of My (Forced) Journey

_Hey Guys,_

_Seems this hasn't been able to take up any wind yet, which is a shame but not everything can really make a big splash and since I already have a fairly successful fic going right now, maybe there just can't be a lot of big successes at once. _

_But I hope you like this chapter and feel free to review and pm me with anything, I'll happily reply,_

_xKiha _

* * *

><p>"And Travis came back just so he could apologize, didn't you?"<p>

_I hate life._

First I'm practically taken captive as a means of a get out of jail free card and now here I am, apologizing to the women I just robbed a little bit ago still in complete uniform. I'm a criminal, I don't apologize to anybody I've hurt.

And yet here I was, Nia eyeing me expectantly with one hand on a hip and the other holding that little Eevee of hers. She might just be the stubborn type, Jan eyeing my in a similar manor but that might have been only because he was seeing his friend doing it and was hoping to have some type of authority over me.

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Yeah…" My voice trailed off as I avoided making eye contact with the sniveling woman clinging to her Sandshrew, Arceus was this humiliating. "I'm…sorry." Nia huffing at how forced this sounded.

"Well…" The woman looked up at me with red eyes, shaking her head before slapping me hard across the cheek. "You should be put in jail for this kind of thing! You Rockets are all the same and it's disgusting!"

My anger was beginning to boil over as I clenched my free hands into shaking fists, Jan panicking as Nia grabbed my wrist and tugged me backwards to try and snap me out of the mindset of punching this woman. "D-Don't worry about it, ma'am, we're going to take him along with us to make sure he stays out of trouble." My aggravation swelling to a powerful size when she began to talk about me like I was a fucking child, shooting Nia a glare as she bit her lip and focused on the woman.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" The sniveling woman was only now beginning to calm down. Maybe that slap was all the closure she needed to feel better about herself. "A criminal isn't just going to turn face overnight."

_Any good criminal would never turn face._

"We know." Nia nodded, looking to her friend beside her. "Right, Jan?"

He still didn't seem as on board as she was when it came to all of this, nodding nervously. "Uhm, yeah. We'll be able to handle this." Something tells me that he wasn't brought into the decision making when it came to what to do with the dangerous criminal.

"Well, I really can't thank the two of you more." The woman beamed as she cuddled her Sandshrew tightly.

"No problem at all, we were happy to help." Nia smiled, her Eevee crying out in agreement.

We?

I looked to Jan. "The hell did you do to help?"

"Well, I was ready to go get the cops at any time." He returned, this sudden retaliation causing me to snicker slightly at his defensiveness. Was he afraid of me?

Smart boy.

"Oh and before I get! I was wondering if maybe you'd consider taking this little guy in."

I looked back to Nia who seemed to be handing my Drowzee's Pokeball over to my victim who seemed somewhat hesitant to take it from her. "If you don't mind my asking, what exactly is inside it?"

"Well, it's a Drowzee our friend here was holding on to but isn't willing to give a proper home to." Nia replied, causing the woman to glare at me for not wanting the useless thing. "It'd be great if we could leave it somewhere where it could it be taken care of and loved."

The sniveling woman seemed to think this over for a moment before drying her eyes and nodding. "Y-Yes, I'd love to take care of the poor dear. I'm sure he'll fit right in with me and my Sandy."

Nia and Jan gave her sappy smiles before Nia looked back to me, knowing the disgruntled look on my face basically meant I wanted to get the fuck out of here and preferably now. "But, we must be going. Jan's got a fourth gym badge to pursue~" She practically chirped this, Jan blushing timidly at her exclamation of this. Couldn't deny that I was surprised; _this _guy was taking on gyms?

"Oh yes, I wouldn't want to keep you two. Thank you so much and be sure to keep your little friend in line and out of trouble." Was I suddenly some kind of child who needed my hand held to be decent. "Good luck out there."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Thanks~!"

And from there we left, Nia looking to me once more with a lopsided look on her face. "Well, at least you said sorry…"

"If only he meant it." Jan muttered under his breath as Nia nodded slowly, her Eevee seeming to respond with a yip as the blond giggled at his involvement in the conversation. "Guess even Nova wants you to be sincere, don't you boy?" Her Eevee yipping louder thanks to the attention it was getting from her.

"You know, I'm surprised nobody has tried to steal that Eevee."

If she was going to fuck around with me, I was going to fuck around with her.

Nia stopped dead in her tracks, Jan looking at her with a frown as she lowered her head slightly. "Please don't say something like that…I-I don't even want to think about something like that…"

Arceus was she whiney. "I'm just saying. This one time my brothers managed to steal some broad's Eevee and sold it for 4 grand on the Black Market."

Jan shot me a glare as he placed a hand on Nia's shoulder, timidly enough to make me question just what kind of relationship these two had between them. "I don't think we needed to know that."

Nia shook her head. "N-No…I-I didn't want to k-know." I could hear her voice breaking with emotion as she spoke.

_Oh Arceus damn it, don't cry!_

"L-Look, nobody's going to take your Eevee!" I said nervously, not really sure how to react in a situation like this. I mean, how many girls like Nia do you think work for Team Rocket? All the women I've ever interacted with haven't been good ones. Er, maybe ninety-nine percent of them.

"J-Just…just don't talk, Travis." Nia sighed, wiping at her eyes while Nova pawed at his trainer nervously. "One of the first things you're going to need to learn is when you should say something to somebody and when you shouldn't speak at all."

Nia then began walking ahead and Jan quickly followed behind, neither having anything more to say to the hapless Rocket they were ever so willing to drag around every which way like a Pokedoll.

And yet, even with how annoying they were being, I still followed behind.

.

.

.

We walked all afternoon, none of us really saying anything to one another as we all journeyed in search of the Rock Tunnel. From what I gathered Nia and Jan were friends, their lack of serious affection or pda giving me that idea. And it seemed the little dork really was taking the gym challenge because at one point, Nia began whispering something about Lt. Surge to him, a topic Jan seemed very hesitant to talk to her about. I heard he was a pretty tough man and that sometimes he would go seriously overboard on accident thanks to the hype of being in battle. Guess being in the Kanto-Johto war can leave you a little bit different and Surge is just another example of what can happen.

"It's getting dark…" Nia muttered as she looked around.

Jan nodded as he squinted up ahead, seeing the rock cliffs and walls that served as the outside of Rock Tunnel went on for a while before noticing a glowing red sign. "Hey, there's a Pokemon Center up ahead. I'm sure we can lodge up there for the night."

Nia nodded with a soft smile of her own, seeming to be running her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm as the dark began to creep in on us. She then turned to look at me, studying my Rocket uniform with a frown. "Travis?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you wearing another shirt under that?" She motioned to my uniform shirt emblazoned with the trademark red R.

I wasn't sure why she asked this, but I nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah. I've got a wife beater on underneath…"

Nia grunted softly as she thought about this for a moment before suddenly taking a hold of my shirt and pulling it up over my head and completely off, leaving me in a thin white wife beater. "What the hell Nia!?"

"Do you really think we could walk into the Center with you in your Rocket uniform? People will think we're criminals and we all might end up in jail." Nia said, handing me my shirt and looking over me with a blink. "O-Oh wow…"

"W-What?" I found my cheeks glowing bright pink with embarrassment as her eyes studied me.

"I think I could count all of your ribs." Nia muttered.

I huffed, putting my crumpled shirt under one of my arms. "Whatever." Continuing to walk ahead, leaving Nia to mutter something to Jan who seemed to reply in a somewhat joking manner which made her laugh nervously.

But honestly, I really didn't give two fucks what they were talking about behind my back.

I entered the Pokemon Center, something I tended to completely avoid when I was a Rocket only to keep myself away from judgmental eyes and to keep me out of jail. It was full of people, trainers with their Pokemon, nurses caring for both trainers and their Pokemon and even some workers stationed at the Pokemarts.

"Have you ever been in a Pokemon Center before?"

I turned to find Nia had crept back up beside me, blinking big blue eyes. I couldn't keep my focus on her solely, looking around in all directions. "No…"

"Well, welcome to what will serve as a temp home during your journey with us." She smiled to me gently.

I couldn't deny that Nia had a pretty cute smile, something not many girls I had the pleasure…or displeasure…of meeting had. "Yeah. Alright." It was crowded, but maybe I could get used to staying here during nights.

"Oh!" Nia's hand suddenly grabbed my wrist, making me yelp when I felt her dragging me forward and bringing me to the PokeMart with her face lighting up with joy. "Here~! We can get you what you need here!" Voice an excited purr as I just stared at her thin fingers holding onto my wrist, something she noticed eventually as she released her hold on me.

"Why? What do I need?" I didn't need to go shopping!

"Normal people clothing." She motioned to my Rocket pants and wife beater. "And blond hair dye."

I saw no reason in arguing with her anymore, folding my arms and nodding slowly. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with."

Nia didn't drag me to the clothing, just walking over on her own and hoping I would follow which I did, but for my own reasons of course. I wasn't going through a cave in a sleeveless shirt, it'd be cold.

"Here, this should work." Nia said as she handed me a pair of jeans and a white button up shirt. "Is the pant size right?"

I shrugged as I took the clothing, it looked like it would be the right size and I wasn't one to make much of a fuss if something didn't work the perfect way. When you're a criminal, even a sloppy job is a job well done as long as you get what you need and get away with it.

"Great." Nia smiled, walking over to a different section of the mart and grabbing a box of blond hair dye and handing it to me. "And this will be another thing you're going to need."

_Silly little bitch._

I shrugged once again as she walked me over to the register and watched me hand my items to the clerk who scanned them and gave us the price. I immediately looked to Nia. "You're covering this, right? I'm broke."

Nia sighed, nodding as she removed her wallet and paid for my items, the look on her face making me snicker as the clerk handed me my stuff and bid us a good day. Nia then turned to me, looking over to the bathrooms on the first floor. "So, are you going to need help dying your hair, or should I leave you to it?"

"I can do it." I snickered. "But you can come and watch if you want." I teased, causing Nia to huff with annoyance as she rolled her eyes. "You're funny."

"It runs in the family." I teased as I watched her walk off before looking back to the clerk. "Hey, you guys carry bleach for your hair, right? Like the kinds of stuff that takes out color?"

"Uhm, yes." The clerk nodded. "But why would you need that if you're buying hair dye?"

I snickered. "Don't tell her, but I don't have black hair. I'm a natural blond." The clerk lifting an eyebrow as he watched me hand her the bottle of dye. "So, can I make this trade?"

She nodded with a sigh. "Alright." Muttering something about 'kids' under her breath. "Just take the bottle you need and get out of here."

I did just as I was told before heading to the bathroom and doing what I had been asked, or rather told, to do. Bleaching my hair first just to make sure I wouldn't mess up the new shirt and then getting dressed.

I came out of that stall and for a moment, I just stared at myself. Blond hair again and normal clothes, I looked like just another trainer that would pass through here on a daily basis.

At least the shirt covered all of my scars.

I exited the bathroom, Nia getting up from feeding her Eevee, Butterfree and what seemed to be a Wartortle and Meowth. She seemed to blush almost instantly, looking at me as her lips curved into a gentle smile. "Wow, you look…normal."

I dug into my bag, handing her a bottle of black hair dye. "Here, hold this." Nia taking it and frowning. "What is this?"

"Hair dye." I smirked, Nia looking up at me with questioning eyes. "I dyed my hair black so I would look like my brothers. My hair's naturally blond."

She continued to blush. "W-Wow, that's…that's cute."

I rolled my eyes. "Didn't think changing my hair and clothes would really change that much." Nia shaking her head as she found herself blushing a bit harder as I smirked. "Arceus, somebody's blushy~"

Nia clenched her hands into fists. "You're not funny, Travis…"

And this was when I began to find myself tamed.


	3. Dark Cave

_Hey guys,_

_What's been going on? I know I haven't exactly been writing this in like... a year, but hey, things can change, right? I'm going to try to give this another shot and I'm hoping to get farther than you know... two chapters and then the third coming out a year later. But hey, let's hope that this time I'll have a bit more inspiration driving me forward to want to finish this stuff... right? Yeah, I'm going to do my best and try to post more and hopefully get some readers interested in it. Yeah, let's hope. But yep, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see all of you soon!_

_xKiha_

* * *

><p>That night was difficult, mostly because nothing about it felt right. I knew in the back of my mind that I wasn't supposed to be here, in some warm bed in a Pokemon Center. Not when this was something that was going against every rule that we had in the Rockets. You don't get these kinds of luxuries, you get a cold cot in a crammed room of nine other freezing men and you hope that you don't wake up with a bullet in your brain from a cop raid. So yeah... sleeping wasn't exactly something that was going to easy, but after laying in bed by myself for a few hours, I managed to pass out and get three hours of shut eye.<p>

And of course, the only reason why I only got three hours instead of the desired twelve was because of the knocking that beat against my door.

"Travis! Come on!" It was Nia, not that I was surprised thanks to Jan's overall dislike of me. "We have to get up now! If you sleep any longer, we're gonna leave before you get a chance to eat!"

Another concept that didn't exactly make sense to me, because when you're running with the big Houndoom, you only eat when you've done a job the boss is proud of you for. Eating because you could, that wasn't something that sounded like I could be a part of.

I groaned dramatically, hearing Nia sigh in frustration from the other end of the door. "I know you're awake, Travis... Are you going to come and eat with us or are you just going to ignore me?"

"Ugh, I'll be down there in a minute, just save me a seat or something." I mumbled. No point in looking a gift Ponyta in the mouth, rubbing my face and standing myself up. I wasn't looking forward to eating with them, because of how awkward I was sure it would turn out to be, but I couldn't remember the last time I was offered to eat however much I wanted instead of whatever the boss for that moment was willing to fork over just to keep me alive.

I pulled on my close, noticing the mirror in the room and taking a minute to stare at my reflection while buttoning my shirt up. I ran my right index finger against my ribs, noticing just how obvious they were, probably because of Nia making that clear yesterday. Arceus, I guess I did look kind of shitty in retrospect. Not that that gave her an excuse to tell me that to my face or anything...

But, while walking down the hallway, I felt something grab my arm. Immediately I jerked around, ready to do whatever necessary to get whatever it was to let me go.

"H-Hey!" A kind of shady looking man let go of my arm at once, trying to cover his own face when he noticed that I was about ready to punch him. "I'm not gonna hurt you! I wanted to strike a deal with you!"

"Strike a deal...?" I frowned, folding my arms across my chest to show the punk that I wasn't playing any games with him. "What are you talking about?"

"I have this rare Pokemon with me!" He shouted, fumbling through his bag and pulling out an Ultra Ball. "It's a beast of catastrophic proportions. A sea beast that had sunken ships and devastated lands. A true monster... that rivals even Arceus himself!"

I couldn't stop from smiling a little bit, not when all I could see was a powerful monster taking out Nia and Jan's entire teams without batting an eyelash. It would be too good, to break away from them by proving that I was stronger than them instead of some little Lillipup that they could drag on a rope. "How much are ya askin' for it?"

"I don't know... Maybe for a friend, I'll cut you a deal and drop the price to fifty." He said, giving me an honest enough looking smile. "But you've got to promise me that you will make sure you raise this beast carefully, otherwise you could bring about the destruction of half of Kanto."

I wasn't exactly listening to him anymore, digging into my back pocket and pulling out the money I hadn't told Nia about. Hey, why tell her the truth when I could have her do things for me? I worked hard for my money, she probably just got hers from Mommy and Daddy. I pulled out the only wad of cash I had, flipping through the bills and handing him fifty of the sixty I had.

"Pleasure doing business with a man that really understands when he's got a real deal on his hands." The man replied, pocketing my cash and handing me the Ultra Ball. "Just be careful when you release it, okay? Everything will be going uphill from there, my friend, I can feel it."

I wasn't listening again, grabbing my new beast and heading downstairs, tucking the Pokeball into my bag.

Downstairs sat Nia and Jan at a table in what I'd assume was the dining hall, sitting opposite of one another. They didn't seem to be talking much though, just kind of generic small talk in between bites of their meals.

I sat myself down next to Nia, trying to ignore the dirty look that I got from Jan and instead meeting her blue eyes. "What took you so long?" She asked, setting down her fork.

"Oh, it's nothing." It wasn't time to tell them about what I had, shrugging my shoulders and leaning back in my chair. "Unless you want the gory details that is." I said jokingly.

Seeing the lack of amusement on Nia's face made that all worth it. She looked away from me. "Well, if you're hungry, you have to eat now and hurry up, because we're going to get going."

"Alright, alright." I said, waving her off and standing up. "I'll eat, I'll eat, just calm down."

.

.

.

"Jeez... I didn't think you'd put that much away."

I just rolled my eyes as the three of us left the Center, Nia holding that same damn Eevee close to her chest while making statements about how surprised she was that I went a bit nuts and ate what I guess is over the norm for a guy my height. I guess I did eat a little... much, but I hadn't had more than a crust of bread in over a week, so this was kinda bound to happen.

But hey, if she was gonna bitch about seeing my ribs, why the hell would she complain if I put a bit of meat on my bones? Hypocrite.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I said, looking ahead to see the wide mouthed entrance to Dark Cave in front of us. "So we're really going to go into there, just like that?"

"We have to." Jan shrugged. "Otherwise, there is no way we can get to Lavender Town."

It was funny, hearing about Lavender almost calmed me down. Going back there, that would be much appreciated.

"And? You got a plan?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, the plan is to go through the cave and then get to Lavender town." Nia said, walking into the cave before either of us could get a word out to tell her otherwise. Not that this was some horrible development or anything, since Jan just kinda followed behind her right away like she was the boss here or something.

I just grit my teeth, knowing there wasn't really another choice, instead following behind the both of them and pretending like this was a good idea that they were having here.

And surprise surprise, it was just as dark in there as the name suggested. I held my hand out in front of my face, waving it and everything, but I couldn't see it for the life of me, just blackness.

"Man... Maybe I should have picked Charmander." Nia groaned, sounding like she was further out than I was. "I've got nothing to help us out."

Huh, so she picked either Squirtle or Bulbasaur for her starter, not that that was shocking or anything. I couldn't imagine Nia with some huge Charizard, especially because that power shouldn't be handed to anybody. I set my hand in my bag, digging around for something to help us out.

"Hey guys," Bingo, I found what I was looking for. "Look, I know flash."

With that, I flipped on my flashlight, getting both Nia and Jan to turn and look at me in surprise, Jan's eyes flickering with suspicion and Nia's melting into gratitude. "Where did you get that?"

"A Rocket's always prepared for hell." I replied, seeing Jan roll his eyes, obviously still mad about this whole situation. "Hey, I saw that, at least I'm actually helping here!"

Jan wasn't listening to me, Nia looking from one of us to the other before walking closer to Jan and reassuringly touching his arm. He immediately softened up when she did that. "Look, let's just get going." He said, not looking back at me.

Jan just started walking, ignoring me heading ahead, staying where my flashlight's light could help him but making sure that I couldn't see his face. Nia slowed down, looking back to me every once in a while.

"I'm not going anywhere," I groaned. "I know you'd hunt me down if I did."

"I'm not worried about that." She said, but looked away when she said that, dirty liar. "I just... Jan's being a bit stubborn, but he doesn't hate you. He's worried that you're not going to be a good person, that you're going to take off the moment we give you a chance and you'll never be back."

He was smart, but the look in her eyes made me stop for a minute and think about it. "Well, for now at least I-"

I never got to finish that, not when Nia's little Eevee yelped, causing us both to stop and look at him before a Pokemon's attack hitting one of the stalactites, causing it to fall right where Nia and I were about to step. She stood there frozen for a moment, taking a step away and looking down at the fluffy creature in her arms. "Nova... you just..."

"What the hell caused that!" I shouted, looking around and then noticing Jan pointing to a Krabby, the thing foaming at the mouth and holding out its claws. It was almost pitiful, but Jan was reaching for a Pokeball.

"He's gonna catch it?" I muttered.

"Probably." Nia said, shrugging. "He didn't pick Squirtle, so having a water type would be really helpful."

I slumped back, leaning against a cave wall. "Well, he better hurry up."

.

.

.

Okay, so I'm sure it didn't actually take Jan an hour to catch the stupid crab, but it felt like that. Nia said something dumb to try and congratulate him and then we just started walking again.

"Uh... do you see that?"

I paused when I noticed Jan pointing at a light over in the distance before it was flashed right in our eyes, practically making me drop the flashlight when whatever that was tried to blind me.

"O-Other trainers!" A voice shouted, that blinding light getting closer and closer while my cowardly team stepped closer to me for protection or something. "It's time for a battle!"

Soon enough, we were face to face with some pasty miner kid, with the head lamp and everything as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Come on! Battling in the darkness by flashlight... light? Yeah, by flashlight light, it'll be a battle to remember! You would be a fool to turn me down!"

"It'll be something all right." I said, reaching into my bag for my new Ultra Ball. "Because I'll be the one to battle you."

"But I thought you gave your only Pokemon to that Sandshrew lady!" Jan hissed. "What game are you trying to pull?"

"Dude, I bought a Pokemon today, I'm not playin'." I said, sticking my tongue out. "I bought a Pokemon that could rival Arceus itself! A beast that the seas fear just because of how much of a grip he has on them!"

"Can you just send it out...?" The miner kid muttered, having already sent out a Golbat of his own.

"Alright, but it's your funeral." I said, gripping the powerful creature in my hand. "Come on out... Leviathan!" Hey, the beast needed a name that was worthy of who it really was. Nova the Eevee, Gash the Krabby, psh, you need to give your monsters names that suit them. Monster worthy names.

The ball exploded onto the ground, forming into the beast that I spent almost all of the money on.

And there it was... a noble creature.

A noble creature that was flopping on the cave ground.

A noble creature that looked a lot like a Magikarp.

The only sound I could hear was Jan and the miner kid bursting into laughter, that and the sound of my own ears practically steaming with rage. This could not be happening, there's no way that I was stupid enough to fall for the biggest and oldest trick in the entire book. This had to be some kind of mistake! I didn't just spend almost all of my savings on a fucking Magikarp!

"He was just kidding, of course." Nia's nervous laughter filled the room, elbowing me so I could move out of the way and return the useless fish Pokemon. "I'll battle you, if it'll make you happy."

"Yeah, sure, don't care. Just battle me!"

Nia shot a glare at me, looking at the Eevee in her arms and sighing. "Here, take him, okay?" Plopping the useless little normal type in my arms before I could really object. "Just until I finish up here."

"Uh... Kay." I muttered, seeing him squirm in my arms, whimpering like I had just killed his parents or something. All the while Nia reached for a Pokeball on her belt, selecting the one that rested on her hip. "Alright, Shion, come on out!"

And with that, it became clear that Nia had picked the Squirtle. So at least her taste in Pokemon didn't suck, since she was smart enough to not pick the grass type. The Wartortle that stood in front of her giving off a roar of its own, stomping its feet against the ground.

"Huh... I was kinda hoping for something a bit different." The miner kid said. "But I guess not, always people and their starter Pokemon. Well, except for Magikarp kid over there."

"Hey!" I shouted, feeling Nova flinch in my arms and begin to shake thanks to my yelling. "Oh... hey, it's fine dude... I'm not going to, you know, hurt you." Not that he probably understood all of that, but I figured I would at least try.

"Wing Attack!"

I turned my attention back to the battle, where the Golbat was preparing some kinds of wind tornadoes to shoot at Nia's starter.

"Rapid Spin!"

But I guess that wasn't going to work, the Wartortle popping into his shell and beginning to spin around, shooting forward like some kind of big ass bullet and smashing into the bat thing, the both of them hitting the wall as the Golbat released a shout of utter pain. They both then smashed into the ground, Shion popping out of his shell like nothing had happened at all while the Golbat struggled to get back into the air.

"Wha? Why would you do that!?" The miner shouted. "You actually sent your Wartortle into the air! Water types can't use Fly!"

Nia only shook her head, not looking that amused, not that I could blame her, this guy looked like kind of a dumbass. "Ice Beam!"

"Wait what!?"

Before the miner kid could shout about this, a powerful beam of ice shot from the mouth of Nia's Wartortle, striking the wounded Golbat before it could dodge and causing it to fall over and hit the ground.

"No! How could you!" He shouted, clearly never having heard of an Ice Heal as he rushed over to his Golbat. "Just get out of here! How could you freeze my poor beautiful Golbat!"

Okay, this kid needed some help, Nia looking over to Jan who just kind of shrugged about it. "I guess we should go..."

"Yeah, sounds good." Nia mumbled, forcing a smile before returning her Wartortle. "I guess we'll be on our way." The three of us stepping over the freaking out kid and just kinda heading out on our way.

"Do you think he's gonna be okay?" Nia whispered, taking Nova out of my arms, something he seemed pretty damn happy about. "I really don't think he understood what being frozen meant."

"He'll be fine." I snickered. "Trainer's gotta learn eventually."

"Yeah, we can't just waste our time trying to teach him about status effects." Jan shrugged. "We gotta get out of here first."

I was kinda stunned that he agreed with me, but I wasn't going to press that, just flashing the light ahead as the three of us wandered through the last stretch of the cave. Every once in a while, Nia would just kinda turn her head back and look at me. I knew she didn't completely trust me, but that wasn't the biggest problem I had here.

"Did you really spend a lot of money on a Magikarp?" She muttered, looking at me with concern that only came off as annoying for me.

"Yeah, I did and if you would be so nice, let's not fucking talk about it any more." I muttered, folding my arms across my chest. "It's not exactly something I want to talk about, if you catch my drift."

"I wasn't going to make fun of you, you know." She said, shaking her head. "I was gonna say that I felt bad... I mean, they teach most trainers how to spot a guy that's going to dupe you into buying a Pokemon that's not good in battle. But I guess nobody taught you that, or at least nobody cared enough to want to teach you that."

I was a little surprised by this, the look in her eyes actually kind of sympathetic. But I didn't need some girl's sympathy, I was perfectly fine. "Yeah, well, when you grow up in the Rockets, nobody exactly gives a shit about you. You do your job, they'll keep you around, you fail at your job and they'll leave ya for dead."

"I'm so sorry." She said, slowing down so we could walk side by side. "You know, if you let us in, we'll show you that not everybody works like the Rockets do. We would love to be your friends, if you would look at us differently than you did the Rockets."

"It's not easy." I muttered, clenching my hands into tight fists. "You wouldn't get it, Nia, you never could. This isn't something you can run from."

"And why not?"

I swallowed my words, swallowed the fact that deep down I was kind of afraid of all those people that I had called my friends and family. She didn't need to know the truth, she only needed to know what would shut her up. "Because, once they've got a grip on you, the Rockets never let you go. You're a piece and they own and what can you do... Nothing but do what your told and pretend none of it bothers you."

"Travis..."

"You can pretend that you and Jan can help me, that you can somehow get me out of the Rockets, turn me into a trainer and all of us can live happily ever after, but that's not the real world. In the real world, you two eventually are going to have to watch me leave."

"But do you want to go back?" Nia asked, reaching forward to touch my arm. Her thin fingers were surprisingly warm, blue eyes wide with concern. "If you leave, is it going to be because you want to leave?"

No.

No it wasn't.

"I don't know." I said, looking at her with a glare. "But I guess we're going to have to find out, aren't we?"

Nia sighed, shaking her head as she walked ahead, leaving me at the rear.

I knew even if I tried to tell her the truth about all of this, that she wouldn't understand. Nobody does, not unless you've been turned into a tool and nothing but a tool by the only job you've ever known. It's nothing I wanted to do, but it's all I've ever known.

But I knew that if I had a choice, I'd never really go back to them.

But I didn't have that choice.


End file.
